How Can I Not Falling in Love?

Pakistan proves to be worth all the hardship getting here. Besides of being a country with fabulously ethnic diversity, there are so many places worth a stop – from the two legendary suspension bridges in Passu, the fabled valley of Hunza; the lost tribe of Hindukush in Kalasha Valley, the beautiful Swat valley and oodles of hiking and trekking opportunities in the Northern Areas; the intriguing atmosphere in the old city of Peshawar dotted with the legendary Pashtuns in contrast with the late-20^th-century capital of Islamabad with the once largest mosque in the world – Faisal Mosque underlooking the breezy Margalla Hills, the ancient Indus Valley civilization of Moenjodaro which flourished right after the Mesopotamian civilization on the Euphrates, the big and former capital city of Karachi, the Mughal mosque of Thatta built for Shah Jahan of Taj Mahal-fame, the ubiquitous sublime mosques, shrines and tombs in Multan and Bahawalpur to the Sufism and Qawwali in Lahore, the closing-of-the-border ceremony at Wagah, there are too many things to see and do and for sure there are too many kind(tribe or clan) of people to talk to and learn from(most of the Pakistani can speak English as English is the national language of Pakistan. I was greeted in perfect English by farmers in Passu who asked me to venture to the other side of the precarious suspension bridge without second thought!). And the price to pay for all the above-mentioned things…Oh! What can I say? A bed can cost you as little as $1.50; a meal can cost you as little as a bed; a 1-hour drive on a bus can cost you as little as a meal and by starving for a whole day, you can get yourself a Shalwar Kameez(the traditional tunic-and-trouser cloth). Hey! Am I traveling or finding the cheapest way to live on the road?

Farmers in Passu

Suspension bridge, Passu

Have I told you that my expense on food has risen comparatively with which on accommodation when I evaluated my routine expenditure? The fact is my expense on accommodation has dropped dramatically which could have created the illusion. This is why you can see me feeding myself without having much worry about exceeding my daily budget. Suddenly, I feel I have become so generous that I never worry it would dig a deep hole in my inappreciable travel pocket. Perhaps I should reduce my daily budget from $10 to $5. It’s totally possible to survive with $5 per day but hey, Northern Pakistan is my sanatorium. I’m feeding and nourishing myself here.

Despite all the poverty and potential Islamic fundamentalism and extremism, there is something about the hospitality I encountered and received behind the mist as soon as I step in Pakistan – the land of clean and pure in Urdu. The legendary Wakhi-Tajik herder (one of seven Tajik tribes in Central Asia) who migrated from Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor is one of the minor nationalities that make up the mountain patchwork in the Northern Areas. Beware when meeting them as you will be succumbed by their warm and immense hospitality which might drag you to running out of topic. They are undisputedly the most warm-hearted people in the Karakoram Highway region, with easy greetings from both male and female. The soft-hearted Burusho living in southern Gojal and Hunza valley who are so kind and helpful that you don’t have to worry about being ripped off because they are so honest that on the contrary they might be manipulated or deceived easily by wicked foreigners. All are somehow different with the kind I received from the self-admired and self-assumed with Ta’arof dominant Iranian(yet, Iranians are friendly) to the warm-hearted but most of the times homogeneous due to socialism Syrian(yet, Syrians are friendly).

(Perhaps I should stop learning about the people I meet on the road by the means of if they are friendly, helpful and hospitable. This is too superficial.)

Love Pakistan! Do I?

How can I not falling in love with this country? Despite all the reminders and warning asking me not to go further south due to the political killing and potential high crime rate there where you would be robbed at gun point, I decided to venture to the recently least-traveled of the southern region to find out more about the land and the people – the Punjabis, Baloch, Brahui, Sindhis and Mohajirs, before moving to the east. My stop in Pakistan would never be complete without visiting the south. Wish me good luck!